AND HERE'S $25 TO GO WITH YOUR FREE HIT OF METHADONE

Novelist George Orwell, who was born 100 years ago and knew a thing or two
about brutal, totalitarian regimes, stated that political language "is
designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an
appearance of solidity to pure wind."

So it's nice to know how caring modern society has become, at least to
"chronic injection drug users" who have failed "standard therapies."

Yes, Big Brother is planning not only to give downtown Vancouver addicts
free drugs and a convenient place in which to shoot 'em up, he's also
prepared to throw in some pocket change.

"Every three months, they come in and give us information, we collect data
about how they're doing and they get paid $25 . . ." explains Kathy Sayers,
national co-ordinator for this latest Downtown Eastside drug-injection
scheme.

Starting next March, the site in the 600-block East Hastings is expected to
operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, as part of a
multi-million-dollar UBC medical research project providing hard-core hypes
with free heroin or methadone. The official blurb sounds convincing:
"Researchers will examine whether providing pharmaceutical heroin will
improve the health and quality of life of drug users, reduce homelessness
and decrease their interactions with the criminal justice system." And the
municipal development application is clear: "This project will have no more
impact on the community than any other medical facility."

So why then are well-intentioned locals like chef Joe Chaput not putting out
the welcome mat?

Well, six years ago, Chaput bought a nearby heritage home (dating back to
1895, eight years before Orwell was born), hoping the community would
realize its clear redevelopment potential.

Now he fears this "short-term scientific trial" (lasting for two years) will
lead to long-term pain for local taxpayers: "Up to 30 people per hour could
be leaving the building after taking their prescribed heroin," Chaput says.
"That's way worse than anything I know of around here, and certainly not an
average drop-in medical clinic."

Chaput, 38, is skeptical about the government's long-term plans for his
neighbourhood. Last week, he had nine stitches in his arm after an
"interaction" with a crack addict. And he wants to know why the research
wasn't being done on Vancouver's west side: "It's not like people on the
west side don't do heroin."

Approval of the East Hastings building's use in this federally funded
research (being conducted by universities in Vancouver, Toronto and
Montreal) rests with COPE-led city hall.

It'll be interesting to see if a public hearing is called for non-drug-using
local residents to voice their opinions -- or if, in the words of Orwell,
"some animals are more equal than others."